Faculty Bibliography

Mutations in the staphylococcal virulence regulator gene agr frequently occur during Staphylococcus aureus infection. Whether agr-defective strains are fit for colonization, an important prerequisite for infection, is unknown. Screening by means of assays to detect delta-hemolysin activity and agr autoinducing peptide production indicated that 15 ( approximately 9%) of 160 healthy human subjects were colonized with an agr-defective strain or a mixture of agr-positive and -defective S. aureus strains. The presence of identical agr-defective strains in family members suggests that these strains are transmissible. Additionally, carriage of an agr-defective strain was associated with hospitalization, raising the possibility that such strains may be selected in a nosocomial setting

Harvey Brenner, professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health, projects that an increase of 1 percentage point in the nation's unemployment rate could cause as many as 47,000 more deaths -- including 1,200 more suicides and 26,000 additional heart attacks -- over the ensuing two years. A new study from Utah researchers shows that touch in the form of massage, hugging and kissing decreases stress hormones, increasing the feel-good hormone oxytocin, and lowers blood pressure

BACKGROUND: Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) has an estimated national prevalence of 1.8%, testing rates are lower than those recommended by guidelines, particularly in primary care. A critical step is the ability to identify patients at increased risk who should be screened. We sought to prospectively derive and validate a clinical predication tool to assist primary care providers in identifying patients who should be tested for HCV antibodies. METHODS: A total of 1000 randomly selected patients attending an inner-city primary care clinic filled out a 27-item questionnaire assessing 5 HCV risk factor domains: work, medical, exposure, personal care, and social history. Afterward, the patients underwent HCV antibody testing. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors associated with HCV antibodies. RESULTS: There was an 8.3% (95% confidence interval, 6.7%-10.2%) prevalence of HCV antibodies. The patients who were HCV antibody positive were more likely to be male, older, and insured by Medicaid (P < or = .02). Those who had risk factors within the medical, exposure, and social history domains were more likely to be HCV antibody positive. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the screening tool based on these 3 domains was 0.77. With an increasing number of positive domains, there was a higher likelihood of HCV antibody positivity. Only 2% of patients with 0 risk factors had HCV antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: A prediction tool can be used to accurately identify patients at high risk of HCV who may benefit from serologic screening. Future studies should assess whether wider use of this tool may lead to improved outcomes

Dr. zur Hausen of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg 'went against current dogma' by postulating that the virus caused cervical cancer, said the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, which selects the medical winners of the prize, formally called the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

A German virologist, Harald zur Hausen, will receive half the award for his discovery of HPV, the human papilloma virus, according to the announcement made Monday by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, which selects the winners of the medical prize. The discovery led to development of a vaccine against cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women. Zur Hausen, of the University of Heidelberg, was cited for discovering the first HPV type 16, in 1983, from biopsies of women who had cervical cancer. A year later, zur Hausen cloned HPV 16 and another type, 18. The two HPV types are consistently found in about 70 percent of cervical cancer biopsies throughout the world, the institute said

The institute said the other half of the award would be shared equally by two French virologists, Dr. Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Dr. Luc Montagnier, for discovering HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Since its discovery in 1981, AIDS has rivaled the worst epidemics in history. An estimated 25 million people have died, and 33 million more are living with HIV. The Karolinska Institute said that discovery of HIV by the French scientists, Barre-Sinoussi and Montagnier, led to blood tests to detect the infection and to antiretroviral drugs that are effective in prolonging the lives of patients. The tests are now used to screen blood donations, making the blood supply safer for transfusions. The viral discovery has also led to an understanding of the natural history of HIV infection in people, which ultimately leads to AIDS unless treated. Dr. John Niederhuber, director of the National Cancer Institute, said Monday that Gallo 'was instrumental in every major aspect of the discovery of the AIDS virus.' He added: 'Dr. Gallo discovered interleukein-2, an immune-system-signaling molecule, which was necessary for the discovery of the AIDS virus, serving as a co-culture factor that allowed the virus to grow. Numerous scientific journal articles, many co-authored by Dr. Gallo and Dr. Luc Montagnier, cite the two scientists as co-discoverers of the AIDS virus.'

Grey's Anatomy [Television Program] -- Does hypothermia help an injured spinal cord recover? -- The reality * Impending cardiac tamponade can be diagnosed with certainty only by ultrasound, though the Beck's triad would suggest it, according to Dr. Mark Adelman, chief of vascular surgery at Langone Medical Center at New York University. * Trauma to the face can create an upper airway obstruction that warrants an opening in the trachea

Molecular biology has revolutionized the field of tuberculosis (TB) research. Comparative genomics and molecular epidemiology are providing revelations about the evolutionary origins of MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS and phylogenetic relationships between different strains and strain families. Accumulating evidence indicates that distinct strains of M. TUBERCULOSIS (genotype) may be associated with differential transmissibility, virulence, and/or clinical manifestations (phenotype). As advances in our understanding of the relationships between genotype and phenotype progress, this knowledge will have important ramifications for TB control and the development of novel vaccines and improved diagnostics. Some of the greatest advantages of molecular epidemiological methods include our abilities to follow transmission of particular strains within communities, track epidemics, and recognize the presence of historic outbreaks. Moreover, there are critical questions about TB that are essentially unanswerable in the absence of molecular techniques. These include our capacity to distinguish exogenous reinfection from endogenous reactivation in recurrent TB cases and to recognize primary transmission of drug resistant strains versus the acquisition of drug resistance via de novo mutations. Finally, an elucidation of the phylogenetic structure and evolutionary history of M. TUBERCULOSIS provides a necessary background for understanding the underlying mechanisms responsible for the continued success of this deadly pathogen

Approved by the FDA in 2005, Byetta effectively treats diabetes by mimicking the effects of incretin. Still, since its approval, close to a million patients have used it. The risk of life-threatening pancreatitis is only 1 in 10,000 patients, a very low number. But recent deaths from pancreatitis in patients that had been taking the drug lead the FDA to consider adding stern black-box warnings to the drug label. These warnings could severely limit the usefulness of a very effective drug

Carcinoma arising in the apocrine sweat glands is rare and there are few reports describing the cytological features of this neoplasm. We describe the cytological features of a histologically confirmed apocrine carcinoma occurring in a 55-year-old man who presented with an ulcerated mass in the right axilla. Fine-needle aspiration cytology revealed features of a signet ring adenocarcinoma. The significance of this infrequently encountered neoplasm lies in its potential for diagnostic confusion with more common lesions containing signet ring cells. In an axillary mass lesion, cytological features along with clinical correlation are essential to distinguish primary apocrine carcinoma from mammary neoplasms with signet ring cells and other metastatic adenocarcinomas.